We Need to Talk
by Natalie122333
Summary: This is an AU that takes place between 6x19 and 6x20. Lorelai tells Luke how she feels about the April situation instead of hiding her feelings and giving him a ultimatum (I hated that so much...) Rated M for some sexual content (chapters 1 and 12).
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: My first M rated fic. Thought I'd try to write one that's bit different. I hope it's not random, as I figured that L/L would miss the physical aspect of their relationship while he was gone… This is going to be an AU where Lorelai actually tells Luke how she feels before 6x22. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review. There will be more chapters later…

Lorelai couldn't get to sleep. She wipes at the tears that had fallen on her cheek. _I can't keep going on like this. I have to tell Luke how I'm feeling._ She tells herself .She told herself this almost every night. But she was afraid. Afraid to tell Luke that she didn't like the way he was handling the whole April situation. He seemed to be unaware that he was pushing her away. She needed to tell him that it wasn't fair that his future wife couldn't get to know her future stepdaughter. She needs to let Luke know that she isn't happy.

"Lorelai? Are you home?" Luke's voice came from downstairs and interrupted her thoughts. She thought she was hearing things, as he wasn't supposed to return from April's school trip until tomorrow. She heard his footsteps making their way upstairs, so she quickly turned on the light and grabbed a couple of tissues to wipe her face. The bedroom door opened a minute later and she saw Luke standing there.

Luke's face brightens when he sees Lorelai. "Hey. We got back sooner than we thought we would." He explains simply.

Lorelai gave him a small smile, "Oh. I thought I was hearing things. You surprised me when I heard you come in."

Luke gives her a small nod. "Yeah, I let myself in. The door was unlocked. You forgot to lock it again, didn't you?" Lorelai just nods in response. Luke steps in the room and starts walking over to the bed.

Lorelai quickly get out of the bed and meets him just before he gets to the bed. "Hi." She whispers simply as she reaches out to him.

Luke lowers his head slightly and presses his lips to her softly for a quick kiss. "Hi." He whispers back when he pulls back.

Lorelai wraps her arms around his waist and he hugs her back.

"I missed you." He whispers.

"I missed you too." She admits. Even though she wasn't exactly happy with him right now, she still missed being with him. Luke holds her tighter and rubs her back a little.

They pull apart after a few seconds. "So, how was the trip?" Lorelai asks.

"Good. It helped me get to know April a little better. And she even referred to me as her dad a couple times." Luke told her as he sat down to take off his shoes. He also unbuttons his flannel and takes it off.

"Aw. That's great, hon." Lorelai says enthusiastically. She's trying to be supportive. She hopes that the trip helped him bond with April. She wants him to be happy, but she also knows she needs to tell him that _she's_ unhappy.

"Were you sleeping when I came in? I didn't wake you up, did I?" Luke asks, sounding concerned.

Lorelai looks away and a tight-lipped smile forms on her mouth. She glances down at the book on her nightstand. "No. I was reading." She lies.

"Oh, okay. Well did you want to go to sleep now?" Luke stands next to her and reaches out and starts gently rubbing her shoulder.

"Hmm," Lorelai mutters and she shakes her head no.

Luke smiles softly as she looks at him, her eyes bright. He cups her face with one hand and brings his lips back to hers. Lorelai kisses him back, deepens the kiss. They share a few deep kisses, only stopping to breathe for a second. Lorelai is the one to pull away; she takes a step back and gazes at Luke. Luke looks back at her and tries to meet her eyes. He gently pushes a few strands of hair off her face. Lorelai reaches out and tugs on his belt. Luke lowers his hand so that it rests on her hip.

Sometimes, they didn't need to say anything to know what the other wanted. Lorelai began to undo his belt and his hand moved to the tie on her sweatpants. Lorelai pushes his hand away and pushes her pants down her hips and off her legs. Luke removes his belt, unbuttons and unzips his jeans then slips them off.

Lorelai pulls him in for another kiss. She kisses him sweetly and slowly, but he is the one to deepen the kiss this time. He takes her bottom lip between both of his and nips it gently. Lorelai moans softly and reaches up and takes his cap off his head and runs her fingers through his hair. Her other hand moves under his shirt and she runs it over his hip and inner thigh gently. Luke pulls away and takes a step back. Lorelai watches him take his t-shirt off and it joins their pants on the floor. Now all he's wearing is his boxers. Lorelai quickly slips her own shirt off and drops it to the floor.

Luke reaches out and pulls her back to him. He brushes his lips against hers softly as her hand slowly makes it way to the waistband of his boxers. She's surprised when he wraps his arms around her and picks her up off the floor. She wraps her legs around his waist and giggles a little. Luke smiles as he drops her on the bed gently. As he holds himself above her, she helps him slip off his boxers. Once they're off, he reaches down to help her remove her panties.

Lorelai pulls him close for another kiss and they kiss passionately until they have to stop to breathe. Luke moves his hands to her breasts and he gently squeezes them. Lorelai closes her eyes and she inhales sharply. As Luke's replaces one of his hands with his mouth, Lorelai moves her hand lower and grasps his erection. She slowly runs her hand up and down his length. Luke grunts quietly. He moves his mouth to her neck and kisses and sucks on it. Lorelai smiles then brings her hand up to his shoulder and she pulls down him down for a kiss. Luke kisses her deeply and Lorelai can feel him smile against her lips.

Lorelai breaks the kiss and Luke gazes at her, his eyes filled with lust and desire. She smiles softly and runs her hands up and down his back. Luke returns her smile and she spreads her legs wider, letting him know that she was ready. Luke positions himself so that his body is lined up with hers. He quickly guides himself to her entrance and enters her slowly. Once he was fully inside her, he began moving, rocks his hips a little.

"Luke." Lorelai sighs. She circles her hips as he thrusts into her a bit faster. Soon, they find their well-practiced rhythm and Lorelai pulls him down for a sweet, long kiss. Her hands move to his ass and she pulls him even closer. Luke grunts loudly as he gets closer to his release. Lorelai's breathes heavier and Luke reaches down to rub her clit. When Lorelai lets out a moan, he thrusts faster and his fingers move quickly against her clit.

Lorelai arches her back and moans, "Oh..ah.. Luke," as she climaxes. Luke's release isn't too far behind and he gasps and simply mutters: "Lorelai,"

Luke presses a kiss to her cheek before he shifts his weight off her and lies next to her. Lorelai find his hand and holds it in hers. Luke turns his head and faces her.

"Love you." He says softly, as he remembers that she had said she wanted to hear him say it more often.

 _Sure, he says it right after sex._ Lorelai thinks. "Love you too." She whispers. She had only said these word to him once, when they got back together after their breakup.

Luke smiles and brings their joined hands to his mouth, kisses hers. When he drops her hand, he moves a bit closer to her and wraps an arm around her. She lays her head on his chest and listens to his fast heartbeat. They lie in silence for a couple minutes before Luke says:

"I'm gonna go get ready for bed."

"Okay." Lorelai responds and he kisses her forehead before she moves off him. She doesn't look at him as he gets up and goes into the bathroom.

Luke returns a few minutes later, wearing his t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that he kept at her house. He gets into bed next to her and she turns off the lamp that she had turned back on when he got up. He quickly kisses her and whispers, "'Night."

"Goodnight." She says back. She faces the other way, but he shifts closer to her and wraps his arm around her waist, the position they usually fall asleep in. Lorelai makes a promise to herself to talk to him in the morning.

Lorelai wakes up to Luke gently shaking her shoulder. When she opens her eyes, Luke frowns and says, "Sorry to wake you. I'm heading to the diner now and thought you'd want to get up before I left so you can have plenty of time to get ready for work."

"What time is it?" She asks him.

"Almost nine," He replies.

"Oh, do you have to go to the diner right now? I was hoping we could talk a bit before you left." Lorelai tells him as she sits up.

"Oh, well I already told Caesar last night that he could open today and that I'd be there no later than nine-thirty. Can we talk after work? I can probably close early." Luke replies.

Lorelai contemplates telling him to stay, but she decides to once again put off the discussion she knows they need to have. "I guess so." She says quietly.

"Okay, great. So I'll see you later?" Luke says quickly as Lorelai gets out of the bed.

Lorelai nods. Luke flashes her a smile and gives her a peck goodbye before he turns and leaves.

Lorelai sighs deeply and sits back down on the bed for a little while before she gets ready for work.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that night as Luke swept the diner, his cell phone started ringing. He stops sweeping and walks behind the counter, where the phone is sitting. He picks it up and answers it.

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's me, are you coming over soon?" Lorelai replies.

"Yeah, I'm just finishing cleaning up and then I'll lock up and head over." Luke tells her.

"Okay. See you soon." Lorelai says and she hangs up.

Luke hangs up the phone and slips it in his pocket. He goes back to sweeping and finishes in about ten minutes then locks up and leaves.

When he gets to Lorelai's house, he doesn't knock, he just walks in. He finds Lorelai sitting on the couch, watching T.V. When he enters the room, Lorelai turns off the T.V.

"Hey. Sit down." Lorelai tells him, her tone serious.

Luke walks over and sits down next to her. He looks at her, waits for her to speak.

Lorelai takes a deep breath. She feels tears start to well up in her eyes.

Luke looks at her face, "Hey, are you okay? ... Did something happen to Rory?" He asks, clearly worried.

"Um, no Rory's fine. Actually, let's start with that. Rory told me that she met April in Philadelphia." Lorelai glances at him and sees his face change, he looks stricken.

"Oh, uh, yeah she did. It was kind of just a fluke. I didn't know Rory would be there. She was there for Jess." Luke says quickly.

"Yeah, Rory told me it was a crazy coincidence. I guess you had to introduce her or it would be awkward, right? I mean, Rory is going to be her stepsister, so it's only right they should meet. Even if she can't be properly introduced to her future stepmother," Lorelai replies, she tries not to sound too angry.

Luke takes a few seconds to answer, "Um, well… I just haven't had the time to do that. I was just on that trip with her and now she's back with Anna of course." He mumbles and his eyes dart around the room.

"That's a sorry excuse if I've ever heard one, Luke. You've known April for _months_! And I didn't even know she existed until two months after you found out! I want to get to know her Luke!" Lorelai tells him, raising her voice a little. She won't let him change the subject or try to drop the conversation.

"Okay, fine. You really want to know why I haven't gotten you involved with her?" Luke responds and Lorelai nods. "As soon as you two properly get to know each other, it will all be over for me."

"What?" Lorelai replies, confused,

"April will love you, just like everyone else does. You two will bond over girl things and I'll be left in the dust, she'll want to spend all her time with you and I'll never get to really bond with her." Luke looks right at her, an uneasy look on his face.

Lorelai's brow furrows and she thinks for a few seconds before replying, "Luke, that's crazy. You're her dad; she obviously wants to spend time with you. I wouldn't want to take away her time with you."

"Yeah, I'm her dad and I want to spend some time getting to know her before I introduce her to people. I'm still getting used to the fact that I have a daughter. I want to spend some time alone with her so we can form a proper relationship. I thought you understood that." Luke says a bit angrily.

"Yes, well I thought you just didn't want _the town_ to watch you through the window. I didn't think that you would keep me away from her. Luke, I don't like this. I feel like you've been pushing me away and that isn't right. I should be able to get to know April before we get married." She says the last part in a low voice.

Luke sighs, "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you or make you feel left out. I just get too focused on one thing and I forget about others. I'd just prefer to spend time with April alone. I want you to get to know her too, just not right now."

Lorelai throws her hands up dramatically, "Well when, Luke? When can I get to know her? When we've been married for a year? When hell freezes over?!"

"Lorelai, I need time alone with her because I missed out on over twelve years of her life! Twelve years! I need to make up for those years!" Luke say feeling frustrated already.

"But, you didn't even know she existed for those twelve years! And that isn't your fault, Luke, its Anna's!

"Yeah, it's partly Anna's fault, but it's also mine. She felt like she couldn't tell me she was pregnant because she thought I hated kids. I regret saying whatever I said and doing whatever I did to make her feel that way. I wish I could have seen April grow up." Luke says slowly.

Lorelai shakes her head, "No. Anna should have known that you'd want to be a part of your own kid's life. Sure, you hate jam hands and what not, but it wasn't right of Anna to keep April's existence from you. I know that you would be the best father you could be. You're a kind, caring and reliable person, Luke. I can see how much you care for Rory and it's one of the things I love most about you. I just hate that you didn't get to see your kid grow up. You deserved that so much." She feels tears fall down her cheek.

Luke looks down; he doesn't know what to say. He takes a minute to think. "Then you understand that I want to be a responsible father. I want her to like me and I think we need some time to bond and try to form a good relationship." He stops and glances at her.

"I do understand that, but how much time, Luke? You've had months! I think she likes you, otherwise she wouldn't want to visit you." Lorelai's anger starts bubbling up again.

"I don't know how much time." Luke admits.

"But Luke, we're supposed to be planning our wedding. Remember you told me we could elope. You told me that at Martha's Vineyard months ago and we haven't talked about it since."

"I know and I'm sorry we haven't. But I just feel like I need to focus on April for now." Luke replies and he reaches out to touch her knee, but Lorelai moves back.

"But I'm sick of waiting, Luke. I'm sick of feeling upset every night because you're not here or it feels like you don't want to marry me anymore. You have to figure out how April fits into _our_ lives, not just yours. We're supposed to be blending our lives together!"

Luke frowns, "You were the one who offered to postpone the wedding, and you said you were okay with it."

Lorelai scowls, "Because I thought we would set a new date sooner rather than later! I want to marry you, Luke! I'm ready… but apparently you aren't." She gets up and walks across the room.

Luke follows her and stands behind her. She faces away from him. "Lorelai, please try to understand… I still want to marry you, I just feel like I need to make April a priority right now. That doesn't mean that you're not important anymore."

"Okay, but if you're not ready to set a wedding date then, maybe we should spend some time apart while you get to know April better." Lorelai says flatly. She doesn't turn to face him.

"What, no, Lorelai, that's not what I want." Luke steps closer to her and puts a hand on her shoulder.

Lorelai's shoulders start to shake as she tries to hold back a sob. Luke doesn't remove his hand "I don't really want that either, but it seems like it's the right thing to do." She finally turns around to face him.  
"I don't want to feel left out anymore and you don't want me to be involved yet. You should figure out some things alone, without me. I want us to work, Luke and I…" She sighs "want you to be able to tell me anything and let me in. And I think you need some more time to adjust to being a father and time to figure out how to blend both parts of your life together. We need to take a break." She tells him. She won't meet his eyes because it hurts too much.

Luke stares at her, he is dumbfounded. He truly didn't know that she was so hurt by his actions. He was too wrapped up in April and he thought Lorelai would wait patiently for him to come to terms with being a father. He watches her as she wraps her right hand around her left and slowly takes off her engagement ring. She holds her hand out to him, wanting him to take the ring.

"Take it, and give it back to me when you feel like you're ready to set a date, Luke. I don't want to wait around anymore, I'm done." She says, her voice a bit shaky.

Luke looks at her face and sees tears fall down it. He lets out a shaky breath and reaches out to wipe her tears with his thumbs. Lorelai doesn't step away, she lets him comfort her. He wraps one arm around her and rubs her back a little. Lorelai keeps the ring in her closed fist.

"Does this mean we aren't engaged anymore?" Luke whispers.

"I don't know. I think we just both need time apart. Okay?" Lorelai says softly.

"I don't know, but if this is what you want then I'll have to accept it. I guess I do need time to sort out everything." He admits.

Lorelai pulls away from him. She doesn't know what else to say. She grabs his hand and slips the ring into it. Luke gasps. He doesn't want to believe that what's happening is happening. But as he thinks, he starts to see that Lorelai is right. Maybe it would be best if they spend some time apart.

Luke holds the ring tightly and wraps his other arm around Lorelai again and pulls her into him. "I still love you." He says softly.

"I know." Lorelai says simply and she returns his hug, wraps her arms around his upper back. Luke kisses the top of her head before he pulls away. He glances at Lorelai one last time before he walks away. Lorelai can tell he's hurt, but she knows she said what needed to be said. She stands still as she listens to his footsteps get farther and farther away and the sound of the door opening and Luke leaving.

Lorelai stands their silently for another minute before she walks over to the phone and dials a number and waits.

"Hello?... Mom?" Rory answers after the third ring.

"Hi, hon. Can you… maybe come over here, I need you right now."

"Sure. I'll be there as soon as I can. What's wrong? You sound upset."

"It's about Luke." Lorelai says simply.

"Okay. I'll be on my way soon, Mom." Rory doesn't ask what happened; she just knows she needs to get back to Stars Hollow to be by her mother's side as soon as possible.

"All right, thanks. Drive safe."

"I will. Bye, Mom."

"Bye." Lorelai hangs up the phone and sits down and cries silently.

Author's note: I didn't really mean for this chapter to be this long, but here it is. Please feel free to leave a review. Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as Rory got to the house, she practically ran inside as she remembered how Lorelai reacted when Luke broke up with her before. She found Lorelai lying on the couch, almost asleep.

"Mom?" Rory bends down and gently touches Lorelai's shoulder.

Lorelai opens her eyes, "You're here." She says with a gentle smile.

Rory returns her smile, "Of course I'm here." Then she frowns, "What happened?"

Lorelai takes a deep breath then sits up. "Um, Luke… he and I decided to take a break. I even gave him the ring back." She brushes her left hand with her right.

"What? Why… oh, did you tell how you were feeling about the whole April thing?"

"Yeah, I told him that I didn't want to feel left out anymore. I suggested that we take a break while he gets everything sorted out." Lorelai tells her.

"Okay, but he just agreed to take a break? Did he tell you why he didn't let you get to know April?" Rory is having a hard time believing that Luke would give up so easily.

Lorelai lets out a fake laugh, "He said that once April spends time with me, she won't want to spend any time with him. He thinks she'll love me and he just wants to get some alone time with her so he can get to know her… but I want to help him and I want to get to know her too." She bites her lip and sniffles a little.

Rory moves to sit next to Lorelai. "Um, wow. I don't know what to say. I mean, I was wondering why he didn't properly introduce you two. I didn't think that would be the reason. I don't know why he can't see that you and April getting to know each other could only be a good thing for all three of you."

Lorelai sighs, "I think he just likes to try to handle things on his own. He doesn't like asking for help, he's stubborn and he just wants to make up for all the years he lost with her. I understand that, I just wish he would let me in. I think I have the right to get to know my future stepdaughter, Luke knows you."

Rory nods. "Yeah, Luke can be stubborn. But you let me get to know Luke was I was young, you let me get to know everyone in town. You trusted Luke and everyone because you knew they were nice people who would be kind to me. Maybe April's mother is scared to let people into her daughter's life." Rory suggests.

Lorelai shakes her head, "No, Luke didn't say anything about how Anna feels. He just said he regrets saying or doing whatever he did to make her not tell him about her pregnancy. He would have told me if Anna didn't want me to get to know April. _He_ doesn't want me involved and he needs time to adjust to being a father and time to figure out how to blend his two separate lives and let me be involved with April." Lorelai replies. She looks down, lost in thought.

"You're right. I just thought he would want you there to support him as he adjusts to being a father. I thought this whole thing would bring you two closer together, not separate you." Rory says with a troubled look.

"I thought so too, hon. I know it's best if we spend some time apart for now. I can't go on feeling hurt and upset every night because of him. And he needs time to think things over and make sure that he still wants to marry me." Lorelai says slowly.

"You still love him, right? This break isn't permanent?" Rory asks, scared. She knows that Luke and her mother are meant to be together and that Luke must be hurting right now too.

"Yes, I still love him. I have faith in him. I think he'll come around. I told him to give me the ring back when he's ready to set a wedding date." Lorelai tells her.

Rory nods, "Well, I support you. I'm here for you, no matter what happens." She quickly kisses Lorelai's cheek.

"I know." Lorelai says simply as tears start falling down her face.

Rory stands up and helps Lorelai up then gives her a hug. They decide to watch a movie together.

Luke barely got any sleep that night. He tossed and turned as he thought about Lorelai. He agreed with her decision to take a break because he knows he still needs time to come to terms with being a father. He knows it isn't right to push Lorelai away while he spends time with April. And, although he isn't sure how long it will take to sort everything out, he knows that he still wants to be with Lorelai. He just hopes she won't give up, he hopes she'll wait for him.

The next morning, Luke receives a phone call from Anna. She tells him that April can have her birthday party at the diner the next day. She also tells him that she will be going to New Mexico to help her sick mother, so she asks if April could stay with Luke for at least a week. Luke was surprised that Anna would trust him with April for that long and he wonders if she's just asking him because no one else could do it. But, of course Luke agrees to do it.

Lorelai only took one day off work, and on the day of April's party she goes back to the Inn. She lets the work distract her from thinking about Luke. She even turns her cell phone off, even though she doesn't think he'll call.

Lorelai tells Sookie what happened, and although Sookie seemed to have trouble believing Luke would agree to take a break, she offers her support and love to Lorelai. Lorelai was so grateful to have Sookie in her life. At the end of the day, Lorelai turns her phone back on to find three new voicemails. She starts to worry that something has happened to Rory and she curses herself for turning off her phone. But, as she presses the button to listen to the first message, she's relieved and surprised to hear Luke's voice.

"Hey, it's me. Um I don't know if I should be calling… but, uh I'm throwing April a birthday party and it's not going so well. I think the girls are bored, I didn't plan any activities or anything and um, I got this awful present for April. I didn't think it was awful when I bought it, but I could tell she hated it when I gave it to her. She tried to smile and she told me she liked it but I could tell she didn't. I don't know what to do and maybe I shouldn't be asking you for help… I don't know, but I feel like I failed April or something. So if you're not too busy, you can call me back, um okay bye."

Lorelai frowns. She felt bad for Luke, but it would obviously be too late to help him now. She plays the next message:

"Hey, sorry to call again… April and her friends just played cards for about an hour before they phoned their parents to come pick them up. I could tell they all hated the party and I feel awful. I don't know what I was thinking when I told Anna I could throw a party. Anyways, April is staying with me for a little while and she wouldn't really talk to me and let me apologize, she said everything was fine. Um, she was in the bathroom for a bit and I thought maybe she was, you know, dealing with a girl thing or whatever…" He sounds nervous or uncomfortable.  
"And she came out after a little bit, holding her side. I was thinking about calling Liz, but she's out of town with T.J. and Anna is with her mother in New Mexico…" He takes a deep breath. "So I thought I would call you since you would know how these things work of course. Um, so, sorry again but I could really use your help so call me back if you can. Thanks, bye."

Lorelai raises her eyebrows; she can picture Luke's face turning red while talking. There's still one more voice mail, she figures it's just him telling her that he figured everything out.

"Um, hi. I'm at the hospital." Lorelai puts a hand to her mouth to stop herself from gasping so she can hear the rest.  
"April lied down for a while before she told me that her right side was hurting and I felt her forehead and she was burning up. She told me herself that it might be appendicitis; she's really smart… so I didn't want to wait any longer and I took her to the hospital. They took her away right away and she's in surgery now. I'm worried… I've never known anyone who had an appendectomy and I don't know anything about them… uh, the doctor told me she should be fine but I'm still scared… Can you come here? I'm at St. Joseph's and I uh, well I need you. Please come." His voice was shaky and he sounded so distraught.

Lorelai checks the time the voice mail was left, about half an hour ago. She hurriedly decides to go to Luke. She knows he needs her. She quickly gets into the Jeep and heads to the hospital.

Author's note: Thanks for reading, following and reviewing this story. I used a season 7 plot line with April having appendicitis, but it's different… At least this time Luke won't have to see Lorelai's wedding ring… Anyways, please feel free to leave a review.


	4. Chapter 4

When Lorelai arrived at the hospital, she quickly found her way to the waiting area where Luke was. She found him sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. "Luke?" She says gently as she approaches him.

Luke immediately lifts his head. He gazes up at Lorelai. "Lorelai? You came." He's a little surprised.

Before Lorelai can reply, Luke jumps up and wraps his arms around her. Lorelai instinctively hugs him back and rubs his back a little. She knows he needs comfort right now. "Thank you." He whispers in her ear.

She freezes when she hears the sincerity in his voice. Then she pulls away from him. He looks at her with a wretched expression and she takes a few seconds before she can meet his eyes. She almost gasps; she's never seen him so… so fragile.

Lorelai sits down next to the chair Luke was sitting in and after a few seconds, he sits next to her. Lorelai wasn't exactly sure what to say. "Um, so April's still in surgery?" She asks.

Luke nods, "Yeah. I don't know how long it will take. The doctor didn't tell me much. I just wish I knew what was going on… I can't believe this happened, I just…" He stops and looks down.

"She'll be fine. I understand how you're feeling, I remember when Rory had food poisoning… she had to have an IV and I felt like they were going to have to hook me up to an IV. I was pretty hysterical." Lorelai tells him. She looks at him, but he's still looking down.

"I feel awful. I mean, I already threw her the worst birthday party ever and now she's in the hospital… Anna trusted me to take care of her and I'm doing a terrible job so far." Luke sighs deeply.

"Hey. It's not your fault. Appendicitis is a pretty common thing. You got her to the hospital on time, that's all that matters. What present did you get her that was so bad anyway?" Lorelai tries to get his mind off April's surgery.

Luke grimaces. "Ugh, it was this toiletry kit with cats on it." He looks down again.

Lorelai smiles, "You've never really had a knack for buying presents, have you?"

Luke looks back at her, "I guess not." He replies simply. He starts tapping his foot anxiously. Before Lorelai can say anything else, Luke's cell phone starts ringing.

"It's probably Anna, she didn't answer before, so I left her a message." Luke tells Lorelai. She just nods as Luke gets up and walks a few feet away.

"Yeah, we're at the hospital. She's still in surgery." Lorelai can hear what Luke is saying.

"Yeah, it's appendicitis…"

"I don't know. She's still in surgery. I'll call you when I hear something…"

"What?...No, I'm not here alone, Lorelai is here…"

"No, she wasn't at the party, why does it matter?"

"Ok. I have to go, bye." Luke hangs up the phone and sits back down.

"How's Anna?" Lorelai asks.

Luke takes a few seconds to reply, "Hmm? Oh. She's worried, just like I am." He starts tapping his foot again.

Lorelai glances at his face and sees his pained expression. "She'll be fine, I know it…. Give me your hand."

"What?" Luke responds, confused.

Lorelai reaches over and grabs his hand, interlaces her fingers with his. "Everything's going to be fine." She whispers and she squeezes his hand.

Luke squeezes back and gives her a small smile.

They sit it silence for a few minutes before a doctor walks into the waiting area.

He stands in front of Luke and Lorelai. "Mr. and ?"

Luke looks up, "Oh. Hi, I'm April's dad. How is she?" He says quickly.

Lorelai doesn't let go of his hand as the doctor starts to speak, "Well, it's a good thing you got her here so quickly. The surgery went well, but her appendix almost burst on the operating table. Don't worry though, everything went well and she's in a recovery room now."

Luke drops Lorelai's hand and stands up. "Really? She's going to be okay?" He is filled with relief.

The doctor nods, "Yes, you can see her now. She's still groggy, but I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

Lorelai stands up. Luke turns to face her. He grins at her and Lorelai smiles back. "She's gonna be fine." He says almost as if to ask her to make sure she heard the same thing.

"I heard and I'm glad." Lorelai responds.

"Thank you for being here." Luke says softly.

"Of course," Lorelai responds quickly.

Luke reaches out to hug her again and Lorelai lets him. She quickly kisses his cheek before he lets her go.

"Um, do you want to come back with me to see her?" He asks.

"No, that's okay. You go, she needs _you_ now." Lorelai knows he just needed someone to be there with him while he waited for April to get out of surgery. And she knows that when he called the first two times, it was only because he needed her help, he wasn't actually ready to let her be involved with April.

"Oh, okay." Luke seems disappointed. "I better call Anna."

Lorelai just nods and turns to leave. She doesn't look back as she walks away.

When Lorelai returns home, she notices that there is a new message on her answering machine. She presses the button to listen to it:

"Hello, Lorelai, this is your mother. I'm calling to ask a favour of you. I had laser eye surgery today and it didn't go so well. Your father is away on a business trip, so he can't help me and the help aren't being very cooperative… I need you to help me with some errands tomorrow. Please call me back as soon as you get this message."

Lorelai rolls her eyes, but she calls Emily. Emily tells her that no one else can help, so Lorelai reluctantly agrees to help her.

The next morning, Lorelai calls Sookie to let her know that she won't be coming to the Inn. She drives to the Gilmore Mansion quickly. She hopes Emily won't ask anything about Luke, but she can't imagine that she would ask. When Lorelai finds Emily sitting in the dark, she asks her what kind of errands she needs done. Emily tells Lorelai that she'll need to come along since the errands need too much explanation. Lorelai spends the day taking Emily to the pharmacy, the grocery store and even watches her get a manicure. When Emily asks her to stop at a real-estate office, Lorelai questions what errand she could possibly be running there. Emily doesn't answer she just asks Lorelai to come in with her.

Inside the real-estate office, they follow a woman that Emily seems familiar with. She shows them pictures of a house and tells them about it. Lorelai is confused.

"Why are you looking at this house?" She asks Emily.

Emily asks the real-estate agent to give her and Lorelai a minute and she walks away.

"What do you think of it?" Emily asks a question instead of answering Lorelai's.

"I think its fine, I guess. Why?" Lorelai replies.

"Because, it's not for me and your father, it's for you." Emily says bluntly.

"What? Me?" Lorelai is stunned. She looks at the pictures more closely.

"It's for you and Luke. Now, before you get upset and accuse me of butting into your life, listen. I think your house is nice, but it's much too small for you and Luke and any children you may have. Luke doesn't have his own space at your house and he needs that. And I thought you'd like the extra property so you can have horses, you've always wanted horses. It's not in Stars Hollow, but I found out if you grease the palms of a man named Taylor Doose, you can get him to change the property lines. So, you can still have a Stars Hollow address if you want." Emily tells her.

"You want to buy a house for Luke and me?" Lorelai is still surprised.

"Yes, it would be a wedding present." Emily says matter-of-factly.

Lorelai swallows then take a deep breath.

"Lorelai? Aren't you going to say anything? You like this house, right? Luke doesn't seem like the kind of man who would take such an extravagant gift, I know. But I think we can convince him with some lies I've thought of and I-"

Lorelai interrupts her, "Mom, Luke and I are taking a break."

"Taking a break? What do you mean taking a break?" Emily asks in a demanding tone.

"We're spending some time apart. We won't be getting married anytime soon, so we don't need a house right now." Lorelai says bitterly.

"What? Why? What has that man done now?"

"He needs more time to adjust to being a father." Lorelai replies simply.

"Hasn't he had _months_ to do that? Hasn't he let you become involved yet?" Emily raises her voice.

Lorelai sighs, "No, Mom… he, _we_ decided that it would be best if we take a break right now. I don't want to talk about this. You're not buying a house today, okay?" She almost shouts the words, but she decides not to.

"I cannot believe that man! He still hasn't let you have a chance to have a proper relationship with his daughter?! You let him have one with Rory! Why can't he let you do the same?"

Lorelai groans, "Mom, please… just forget about it. Forget about the house and just let us sort everything out."

"Lorelai! I can't just stand by and let him hurt you! I need to speak to that man; we're going to Star Hollow! Take me to the diner!" Emily shouts.

Lorelai was surprised that Emily cared so much, but she still didn't want her getting involved. She reaches out and places a hand on Emily's shoulder.  
"Mom, thank you, really, but Luke doesn't need you yelling at him right now. April just had her appendix removed and he was really worried. She's okay, but he doesn't need any distractions to take him away from April. Please, just let it go."

Emily purses her lips, but then her expression softens. "Alright, Lorelai… but if he doesn't come to his senses and let you in, then he'll hear more than a few words from me."

"Okay. Can we leave now?" Lorelai responds, her voice almost a whisper.

"Yes." Emily replies. She holds out her arm and Lorelai guides her out of the office.

When Lorelai returns home that night, she sees that there is a new message on her answering machine again. She presses the button to play it.

"Hey, Lor. You weren't answering your cell, so I thought I'd try your home phone. I just wanted to know how you're doing. I know you weren't okay at the wedding, I haven't seen you drink that much since that night you came over when my dad died." Christopher chuckles. "You can talk to me about anything, you know. So call me back when you get a chance. Okay, bye."

Lorelai frowns and stares at the phone. After standing still for a few seconds, she decides to go to bed early.

Author's note: Thanks for reading, following this story and leaving reviews! Please feel free let me know what you think of this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

A few days later, Luke is serving his last customer of the night, Kirk. He sets the plate of apple pie in front of Kirk and says "Enjoy." flatly.

"Thanks, Luke." Kirk murmurs before he starts eating. Luke steps away and as he starts cleaning behind the counter, his mind drifts back to the conversation he had with Anna the day before when she had come to pick April up.

 _It was about 7:00 and the diner was empty. It wasn't usually empty at this time of day. The door opened and Luke turned to face it. He was surprised to see Anna, not a customer walk in. "Hey, Anna. I thought you'd still be with your mom. How's she doing? Luke asked._

" _She's fine, a family friend is staying with her. I'm here to get April." Anna replied._

 _Luke's brow furrows, "I told you she's fine here. She should be ready to go back to school next week. Don't worry; I can take care of her."_

" _I know. You've proven that you can take care of her. I just think it's best if she spends some time at home with me before she goes back to school. I think she'd be more comfortable at home in her own bed." Anna headed towards the stairs._

" _Wait a minute." Luke walked over and stepped in front of Anna. "She has her own bed here and she's just starting to adjust to living here. Her staying here has allowed us to bond more and I'm really enjoying spending time with her."_

" _That's great that you two are getting to know each other better, I know she like you a lot, Luke. But, I just want her to be home right now, I miss her. And besides, I'm not so sure I can trust the people who you let into her life. I haven't even met your girlfriend." Anna frowned and stared at Luke, waited for a reply._

 _Luke almost corrected her by telling her that Lorelai was his fiancée, but he stopped himself. "I haven't even properly introduced Lorelai to April. We're figuring things out while I get to know April first and… uh if you take her I won't be able to do that. I want to let Lorelai get to know April soon though. It's important to me. When I had to take April to the hospital, I realized that I was so stupid to keep Lorelai away from April, because Lorelai will always be there and I know she can help me be the best father I can be and it's only right that she get to know April." Luke sighed softly as he thought about what he just said. He knew he meant it, and he was ready to make a change._

 _Anna crossed her arms, "I don't want April getting to know anyone else until I know that you're going to be sticking around. She needs stability. You're engaged, right? She can get to know April when you two are married. April is my daughter and I get to choose who she can see and where she can be. I want her home and I will take her home, you can't stop me, Luke." She turned around and headed upstairs._

 _Luke groaned, frustrated. He followed Anna up to the apartment after a minute. He finds Anna inside the apartment, standing in front of April, who is sitting in on the couch, reading a book._

… _so get your stuff, let's go." Luke heard Anna finish telling April._

" _What? But I thought I was staying here for a little longer? Where's Grandma?" April responded._

" _Grandma's still in New Mexico with a friend. I came here because I missed you, honey. Let's go home. Wouldn't you feel more comfortable there?" Anna gave April a gentle smile._

" _No. I want to stay here. I like spending time with Luke." April answered._

 _Luke smiled to himself, but his face fell when he heard Anna's response: "April, you can spend time with Luke later, I want you home now. No buts."_

 _April scowled, "Is this because he didn't give me a good birthday party? I don't even care about that anymore. Luke is a good dad, okay? He took me to the hospital before it was too late and he cares about me a lot, I know he does. I want to spend more time with him!"_

 _Luke let out a deep breath, "April, it's okay. Go with your mom. We'll get to spend more time together soon, I promise."_

 _Anna turned to face him and she gave a pointed look. April stared at Luke for a few seconds before she sighed and stood up. With Anna's help, she slowly started to gather her things._

 _Once they had packed all of April things, all three of them went back downstairs._

" _You know, Luke only bought that present because he thought I'd like it. How could he know what I like and don't like. You never gave him a chance to get to know me!" April complained._

 _Luke was taken aback; he was surprised that April would speak that way._

" _April, that's enough." Anna said simply._

 _April stepped away from Anna. "Bye, Luke. I had a good time with you the past few days. The party wasn't so bad, I know you tried your best and I appreciate it."_

 _Luke smiled softly at her. April hugged him quickly and Luke awkwardly patted her back. Anna walks out the door with April without saying goodbye to Luke. At that moment, Luke had decided that he wouldn't let Anna control his time spent with April anymore. He decided he wanted to take some action, maybe legal action if Anna wouldn't listen to what he wanted._

Luke comes back to the present as Kirk says: "So are you going out with Lorelai tonight? Lulu and I are going to spend the evening together."

"No, Kirk. Now, can you hurry up and finish so I can close."

"Why not? Oh, did she tell you what she said at Lane's and Zach's wedding?" He looks down, "Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that."

Luke glares at Kirk, "What do you mean? What did Lorelai do at the wedding?"

Kirk looks away from Luke, "Nothing. Forget I said anything." He starts eating his pie again.

"No, Kirk tell me, _now_." Luke says in a threating tone.

Kirk swallows nervously. "Well, um she said that she wasn't getting married… not on June third or ever, I think."

Luke doesn't know what to say. "I… she really said that?" He couldn't believe that she would tell everyone that without talking to him first.

"Yep, don't shoot the messenger though. I wasn't even supposed to tell you, the town agreed to keep it a secret." Kirk tells him between bites of pie. He finishes it and stands up.

"That's ridiculous." Luke replies. He wasn't really surprised that the town would take Lorelai's side, but he expected at least a little honesty.

"Okay, I better get going. Lulu is waiting." Kirk turns and leaves.

Luke stands there for a few minutes, thinking. He decides he needs to talk to Lorelai, so he heads to her house without even finishing cleaning up the diner.

Author's note: Thank you for reading, following and reviewing this story. The next chapter should be up soon, most likely tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

Luke knocks on the door when he arrives at Lorelai's house. He still had a key, but he didn't think it would be right to use it given the circumstances. A couple minutes passed before Lorelai came to the door. She opened it and stared at Luke.

"Oh, Luke," She was surprised to see him. She was wondering if Christopher was going to show up, since she never called him back.

"Hi. Can I come in? I want to talk to you." Luke says calmly.

"Oh, sure," Lorelai steps aside and Luke walks in. Lorelai closes the door then walks in front of him and sits down on the couch and gestures for Luke to sit next to her. He doesn't.

"So, Kirk happened to tell me that you said something at Lane's wedding? Something about never getting married?" Luke decided to ask her right away. He wanted to hear her part of the story. He crosses his arms and waits for her answer.

"Oh, um," Lorelai looks away from him. "Well, I told everyone that they didn't need to save the date. I said they could do whatever they wanted to on June third. I had no idea when they could save the date. You weren't there and I was upset and I got a little tipsy and said some things. What's the big deal?" She shrugs, tries to be nonchalant when she's really angry that he found out about it.

"The _big deal_ is that you told everyone that without even talking to me! I had no idea you were so upset, Lorelai. I was gone on that trip with April, the trip that _you_ said I should go on. Also, you were the one who offered to postpone the wedding in the first place; you knew June third wasn't happening. I thought you were fine with everything, I thought you understood how I felt overwhelmed with everything. Why couldn't you tell me that you weren't okay, Lorelai? We have to tell each other everything!" He spat at her. His anger had bubbled up and he didn't want to hold anything back.

Lorelai glares at him. "Ha, that's funny coming from you, the man who kept his daughter's existence a secret from me for _months_! The man who said 'no secrets' but ended up keeping a huge one; you're such a hypocrite, Luke!" She shouts.

"I thought you were over that! I'm sorry, I really am. I never meant to keep it from you that long, I know it was wrong. I just didn't want to upset you, I saw how happy you were about Rory coming back home, then you started to plan the wedding and you were so excited. But you didn't even ask for my help or my opinions when you started to plan everything… you were so wrapped up in planning the perfect wedding that you didn't even see that I was struggling." Luke looks down and makes a fist with his hand. He regrets not telling Lorelai about April right away, he knows it was the wrong thing to do.

Lorelai shakes her head, "You still should have told me. I would have listened and I would have stopped planning the wedding. Yeah, I guess I should have asked for more of your input, it was your wedding too… and I did think something was off about you, I thought you were just a little nervous about the wedding or something. I never thought you would have a long lost daughter out there, that's something you typically see on a soap opera." She rolls her eyes. "You needed to tell me, Luke. This kind of thing is too big and life changing to handle on your own. You should have trusted me." She says in a low voice.

Luke sighs, "I guess so, but you've kept things from me before. It wasn't worse than what I've done, but you lied to me. When you got drunk with Christopher when his dad died and I asked you if you were sick and you just said you had a headache. You went along with Rory's story of you and her talking all night… you lied and didn't tell me what actually happened until Chris showed up at your parents' wedding and you were scared he would mention it before you told me the truth. You lied to me and if you had just been honest from the beginning, then I would have been fine. You should have trusted _me_ , Lorelai." He gazes at her with a bleak expression.

Lorelai frowns, "That happened more than a year ago. We managed to fix everything after that. I know I shouldn't have lied to you, but I was scared to tell you the truth. I know Christopher is sort of a sore spot for us. I mean, look how you reacted when you heard the message he left. I might as well tell you this now, because we're getting nowhere keeping things from each other." She sighs. "Christopher just called the other day and asked how I was doing. He knew I was upset at Lane's wedding. He could tell and you couldn't…" She stops and glances at Luke, wanting him to say what she wants to hear.

Luke puts his face in his hand for a second. Then he walks over to the couch and sits down on the opposite side of Lorelai. "I can't help but feel a little threatened by Christopher. I've seen how you kind of fall back into the same pattern whenever he shows up. You used to be tempted to try to work things out with him because he's Rory's dad and you have a past with him." He looks right at her. "I don't know, maybe it's easier for you to be vulnerable around him. From what I could tell, you were okay. You told me you were okay more than once. I hate that Christopher was there and I wasn't. You need to tell me if I'm being an idiot or if you're unhappy." He takes a deep breath.

Lorelai nods slowly. "I know and I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I never called Chris back. I don't want anything to do with him. Unless it has something to do with Rory, I don't need to see him. I was scared to tell you how I was feeling because I didn't want to push you away. I thought you might get mad or something, I don't know." She exhales. "I didn't even ask you and I feel bad, how's April?"

"Oh, um actually Anna took her home yesterday. I wanted her to stay, but Anna wouldn't listen… that's uh actually another reason I wanted to talk to you. I want to change things, Lorelai. I want to let you spend time with April. I was being stupid and stubborn when I wanted to keep you away from her. Will you forgive me?" He swallows nervously and looks at her.

Lorelai meets his eyes, "I can tell you really mean it." She gives him a small smile. "We still need to work on communicating better and trusting each other, but I'm willing to do it and I do forgive you." She doesn't take her eyes off him as she waits for his reply.

Luke nods. "Thank you." He says gently. "I agree that we need to learn to communicate and trust each other better. It's not going to come easily, but I'm willing to do it too… and I'm also sorry that I hurt you and that I got too distracted by April and didn't see you were upset."

"Okay." Lorelai nods and smiles again. "What are you going to do about April? Are you going to try to get partial custody?"

Luke presses his lips together. "I don't know, I want to try to sort things out with Anna first, but I don't know if she'll listen to me. She's always controlling when I can see April and I don't like that, she's my daughter too and I want to have a say in things. And if we have to go to court to do that, I'm willing to do that."

"That's good. If you have to take it to court, I'll be there with you. I'll support you, Luke. I know you want to do what's right for April. Anna should be able to see that. She should know that you're not the same person you were all those years ago. You've changed and you don't hate kids, especially not your own kid. And you've always been there for Rory. She needs to know that you're going to be there for April, you're not going anywhere… right?" Lorelai moves closer to him and reaches out and rests her hand on his leg.

"No. I'm staying where I belong, with April, and with you. I'm in this for the long haul, Lorelai. I was an idiot to exclude you before. I know that we can get through this together, right?" Luke takes her hand in his. His gaze is warm and he smiles gently.

"Right," Lorelai smiles back. Luke drops her hand then stands up. Lorelai keeps her eyes on him and he looks down at her.

"Come here." He whispers. She stands up and he reaches out and slowly pulls her to him. He holds her close and whispers in her ear, "I'm sorry." He never wanted to push her away or lose her. She means everything to him and he wants her to know he is truly remorseful.

"I'm sorry too, hon." Lorelai whispers back. Luke's heart skips a beat when he hears the term of endearment. She presses her face into the crook of his neck and sighs. She's relieved that they could make it through that conversation without giving up on each other. She couldn't imagine life without him.

They hold each other a little longer and when Lorelai pulls away a little, Luke leans down and kisses the top of her head. "I want to sort everything out with Anna and April before we can go back to being… us. You're okay with that, right?"

Lorelai nods. "Yeah, I know we're going to be fine." She says sincerely.

"Okay. I'll call you tomorrow."

Lorelai smiles, "Yep."

Luke smiles back before he turns and leaves.

Author's note: Thanks for reading, reviewing and following. Please leave a review and let me know if you liked this chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

A few days later, Luke calls Lorelai. He asks her to come with him to talk to Anna.

"Are you sure you want me to come?" Lorelai asks hesitantly.

"Yeah, I want you there to support me. I want Anna to see that we're in this together, you know?" Luke replies.

"Okay, but are you sure you're ready to let me get to know April? And will Anna be okay with that?" Lorelai is having some doubts.

"Yes, like I said I was an idiot to exclude you. Anna will have to be okay with that. You're a permanent part of my life, Lorelai, and so is April. It's only right that I blend those parts of my life together."

Lorelai stays silent for a few seconds. She's wondering why Luke hasn't given her the engagement ring back yet. Maybe he isn't as sure as he thinks he is or he isn't sure she's ready yet. But, she remembers that he said he wanted to wait until he sorts out everything with Anna and April.

"Okay. I can come with you to talk to Anna." She tells him.

"Great. I'll come pick you up in half an hour, okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

They don't talk much on the drive to Anna's house. When they arrive, Lorelai follows Luke to the door. He knocks and they wait a couple minutes. Anna opens the door.

"Oh, hi Luke, April's at school." Anna says. She notices Lorelai and looks at her.

"I know April's at school. I'm here to talk to you. Actually, we're here to talk to you. This is Lorelai." Luke gestures to Lorelai.

Lorelai offers Anna a polite smile, "Hi, it's nice to finally meet you."

Anna nods. "You too, we can talk inside." She motions for them to follow her.

Luke and Lorelai follow Anna to her living room. They all sit down. Anna looks at Luke and waits for him to start the conversation.

"So, I just wanted to talk to you about April. I think I should have more of a say of when I get to spend time with her and I want Lorelai to get to know her too, before we get married." Luke tells her, although he already mentioned this to her before.

Anna frowns, "Well, I know April really likes you and she keeps asking when she can see you again. I'm just starting to feel comfortable with you spending time with her; I'm not sure if allowing her to get to know Lorelai would be the best thing."

Lorelai isn't sure of what to say, but Luke speaks before she can think of anything.  
"Why not? Lorelai is a great mother. She raised her daughter with little help from anyone. She's caring, she's reliable, and she's my best friend. I think April could only benefit from having a relationship with Lorelai." He taps Lorelai's knee and smiles. Lorelai smiles back and waits for Anna's reply.

Anna nods, she glances at Lorelai, "I'm sure you're a good person. I just can't let April get hurt. I'm worried how April will feel if she gets attached to you and then you and Luke break up and she never sees you again. I don't want to risk April's feelings. I'd rather wait until you two are married and I'm sure you're both sticking around."

Luke opens his mouth to say something, but Lorelai pats his hand and he stops. "I get that. I'm a single mother too and when my daughter was growing up, I didn't let her form any relationship's with anyone I didn't trust. But you can trust Luke. He's a great guy and he wants a proper relationship with his daughter. You can trust us too, Luke and I are stable. We are going to stay together." She gives Anna a meaningful look. "I know how important April is to Luke and I would love to get to know her too."

Anna doesn't reply right away. She looks away for a second then brings her eyes meet Lorelai's. "I just don't know if April is ready for such a big change. She's only had me and a couple relatives her whole life. I appreciate that Luke wants to spend time with her and that you two seem to have a steady relationship. I'm just not sure I'm ready or if April is ready to jump into everything right now, you know? I would just feel more comfortable if we wait until you two are married to get April involved."

Lorelai's brow furrows and she tries to think of a rational response. Luke speaks first: "Anna, I know whatever I said or did in the past made you feel like you had to keep your pregnancy a secret from me, but I've changed. I don't hate kids… yes they can get on my nerves sometimes, but I could never hate my own kid. I know you and I didn't work out, but I would never abandon my own kid. She's my daughter too, not just yours and I would like to have more of a say in things. I only want to do what I think is right and I know allowing April to get to properly know Lorelai is right."

Lorelai smiles softly at him and nods at Anna, "I don't know how long you've know Luke, but I know you haven't stayed in touch with him over the years. He's telling the truth, he would never abandon the people he loves. It was wrong of you to keep April from him all those years. I know Luke only wants what's best for her and he truly cares about her. He's always been there for my daughter, Rory. He's been there to celebrate her birthdays, he attended her high school graduation… I know he loves her and I know he'll never let her down. I will be there to help Luke as he learns to be the best father he can be. And I know all he wants is to be good father and make up for all the years he's lost with April, so please, give him the chance to show you that he can.

Anna looks at both of them. Lorelai gently rubs Luke's arm and it helps him remain calm. The front door opens at that moment and April's voice calls out, "Mom, I'm home!"

"We're in the living room, sweetie." Anna calls back to her. They listen to April's footsteps as she makes her way to the living room. April walks into the room and notices Luke and Lorelai right away.

"Oh, Luke…and this is your fiancée right? We kind of met before when I was filling the salt and pepper shakers, remember?" April smiles gently.

Lorelai smiles back, "I remember. I'm Lorelai. It's nice to officially meet you." April reaches out and shakes Lorelai's hand.

"It's nice to officially meet you too." April replies. Anna watches them carefully.

"April, sit down. We're talking about Luke spending more time with you and Lorelai wants to get to know you too. Would you be okay with that?" Anna asks her daughter.

April blinks and looks back and forth between Anna and Luke and Lorelai. "Yeah, of course, I told you before that I want to spend more time with him. And Lorelai," She smiles at Lorelai again. "Lorelai seems nice and I'd like to get to know her too."

Luke and Lorelai wait for Anna's response with bated breath. Anna sighs, but she doesn't sound too upset. "Alright, I suppose you could spend more time in Stars Hollow." She tells April.

April grins, "Great, thanks Mom." She gets up and walks over to where Luke is sitting. "Um, Luke I just wanted to ask you if it's okay… can I start calling you Dad?"

Luke is taken aback. He smiles softly at her, "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Okay." April replies simply. "I'm going to go upstairs and start my homework." She walks over to Anna and quickly hugs her and whispers, "Thanks again, Mom." She leaves the room and heads upstairs.

"Well, I guess you got what you wanted." Anna stands up. "And I'm okay with it, well as long as April is okay with it and as long as she stays happy."

"She will." Luke stands up too and Lorelai follows. "I'll make sure of it. And also I still want to have more of a say about April's life. I want to have some sort of legally binding contract, you know? I guess what I'm saying is, I want shared custody."

Lorelai is a bit shocked that he brought that up right now. She thought he would wait until after he proves to Anna that he is sticking around.

Anna presses her lips together. "All right, we'll talk about that in the future, once I see that you truly want what's best for April and I know that she's really comfortable with you."

Luke and Lorelai are both surprised by Anna's reaction. "Okay." Luke responds simply. He and Lorelai leave after saying goodbye to Anna and Luke quickly goes up to April's room to say goodbye to her.

Once they get back in the truck, Luke says: "Well, that went better than expected."

Lorelai gives him a warm smile, "I know. I'm glad Anna finally saw that you want to be there for April."

Luke nods slowly. "Yeah, and I'm glad she saw that you're not going anywhere. You and I are stable. We're going to make sure that we really work on us and our issues and we're going to stay together, right?" He asks just to confirm that she feels the same way he does.

"Yep, you and I are going to stay together, babe," Lorelai replies. Luke grins and Lorelai leans in to kiss him. Luke kisses her softly and slowly. They pull back after a few seconds.

Luke takes her hand and holds it in his. He starts the truck with his other hand and pulls out of the driveway. He doesn't let go of her hand for a while.

Author's note: Thank you for reading, following, and reviewing this story. Please feel free to leave more reviews, I really appreciate them.


	8. Chapter 8

The following weekend, April came to visit and Luke arranged for her, himself and Lorelai to have dinner together. About a half hour before Lorelai was supposed to meet Luke and April at the diner, there was a knock at the door. Lorelai quickly finishes getting ready and walks downstairs. When she opens the front door, she finds Christopher standing there.

"Hey," Christopher greets her casually.

Lorelai frowns, "Uh, hi, Chris. What're you doing here?"

"Well you never called me back, so I thought I'd come visit you to see how you're doing." Christopher stands with his hands in his pockets as he shifts his weight from foot to foot.

"You came all the way here just to see how I'm doing?" Lorelai asks.

Christopher nods, "I'm worried about you. I know you weren't okay at the wedding… can I come in so we can talk?"

Lorelai hesitates before answering. She figures she should set him straight. "Fine," She answers simply and she pulls the door open wider and steps aside so he can come in.

They sit down on opposite ends of the couch. Lorelai looks at Christopher and waits for him to start the conversation.

Christopher lets out a breath. "I want to know why you were so upset at the wedding. Why did you drink so much? I know you like to have a good time, but I could tell you weren't happy. What's going on? You can tell me anything."

Lorelai doesn't take her eyes off him as she thinks of what to say. "Chris… I… Okay, I wasn't happy then. I know drinking to deal with my feelings wasn't the right thing to do… but I'm okay now and you don't need to worry about me."

Christopher frowns, "But, Lor, you said you were never getting married… something big must have happened for you to say that. Is everything okay with you and Luke?"

Lorelai groans softly. "I appreciate that you care about me, but my relationship with Luke isn't any of your business." She crosses her arms and glares at him.

"Well, when you chose to get drunk and share your feelings with everyone, it became my business." Christopher glares back. "If Luke isn't treating you right, then I should know because I want you to be happy."

Lorelai shakes her head, "No Christopher, you want me for yourself. You want to know if I'm having problems with Luke because you're looking for a way to get me back." She stops and waits for him to try and deny it.

He takes a few seconds to respond. His brow furrows, "If Luke isn't right for you, then yeah, I'm going to take a chance and try to show you that we can work things out. You don't deserve a guy who doesn't treat you right… I don't want to see you upset. I can make you happy, Lor."

"Luke and I are fine. We are working everything out and we are staying together. I don't want to get back together with you, Chris. You need to see that we're not as good as a match as we thought we were when we were teenagers." Lorelai spews.

Christopher raises his eyebrows and smirks, "If you and Luke are staying together, why are you not wearing your engagement ring?" He asks as he gestures to her hand.

"Like I said before, that's none of your business! All you need to know is I don't want to be with you! Rory and you can spend time together all you want, but I don't want to see you anymore. Just leave, Chris!" Lorelai replies.

He scowls, "Fine. If you don't want us to be a family then I won't keep pushing you. We could be great, you know. I love you, Lor. I always have." He says the last part in a low voice.

Lorelai sighs. "But I don't love you, not that way at least. I love you as Rory's dad, without you she wouldn't exist. You've hurt me time and time again. You weren't there for her or me when it mattered. You only came to visit when it was convenient for you. I can't be with someone who isn't there for me or our daughter. So there it is Christopher, I don't want you to contact me unless it has something to do with Rory. I'm staying with Luke and I'm asking you to please leave."

As she finished saying that, the front door opened and Luke stepped in.  
"Lorelai? Are you here?" He calls out before he sees her and Christopher. He walks up to them and asks Christopher, "What're you doing here?"

Christopher stands up and narrows his eyes at Luke. "I was having a conversation with Lorelai. What's it to you?"

"Luke, don't mind him, he was just leaving." Lorelai says flatly.

"All right," Christopher mutters with a tsk noise. He points a finger at Luke, "You better treat her right." He says angrily. He walks out the door without another word.

"Why was he here?" Luke asks in an accusing tone.

Lorelai stands up and looks Luke in the eye to show him that she's telling the truth. "He came here because he was worried about me. He heard what I said at the wedding and he knew I was upset. He told me I could talk to him about it, but I didn't want to."

Luke nods slowly. "He probably thinks you're better off with him, right? He wants you back, doesn't he? What did you say to him?" He demands.

Lorelai exhales deeply. "I told him that our relationship wasn't any of his business and he pressed me, so I had to tell him that we're working things out and staying together. I don't want ever want to get back together with him, you have to know that Luke." She pleads and tries to look at his face, but he won't meet her eyes.

"I know… it's him, he's the one I don't trust. Just tell me…he told you he wants to be with you, right?" Luke replies in a low voice.

Lorelai bites her lip and looks down. She looks back up at him. "Yes, he said he wants the chance to show me that he wants to work things out with me… he said he can make me happy. But I know him and I know how unreliable he is and… I don't love him. I don't want to work things out with him; I want to work things out with _you_ , Luke."

Luke stares at her and gives her a small nod. "And you told him that?"

"Of course I did. He didn't exactly take it well, but that was to be expected. He knows I don't want him and I will make sure he stays away. You're the only one I want, okay?" She puts a hand on his arm and gently runs it up and down a couple times.

"Okay," Luke whispers. He pulls her into his arms and quickly kisses the top of her head. "I'm sorry, he wouldn't have come here if I hadn't shut you out and made you have doubts about us. If I had only seen that you were hurting…"

Lorelai rubs his back gently. "It wasn't all your fault, hon. I should have told you how I felt. We both made mistakes. And besides, Christopher's always wanted to be with me…" She turns her head and kisses Luke's cheek. "But he knows now that you're the one I want to be with." She whispers.

Luke releases her and steps back a little. "Good." He says simply. He holds out his hand to her. "Are you ready to leave?"

Lorelai had almost forgotten about their dinner with April. She smiles and takes his hand. "Is April at the diner?" She asks.

"Yeah, I left her with Lane. I think they're playing a board game or something. The diner wasn't busy when I left to come get you."

"Sorry I was running late because of him." Lorelai murmurs.

"Don't worry about it. Everything's okay." Luke smiles at her.

"'Kay," Lorelai whispers, they walk out of the house hand in hand.

Author's note: Thank you for reading, following and leaving reviews. Please feel free to leave a review for this chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

For a few days of the following week, Luke, Lorelai and April spent a lot of time together. They went out to lunch and dinner, watched a couple movies together and just talked so that April and Lorelai could get to know one another better.

One night, after Luke returns from dropping April off at Anna's, he heads back to his apartment instead of going to Lorelai's house where she was expecting him. Anna had told him that they could start discussing April's custody soon. She had seemed more willing to talk about it than before and Luke was glad. He picks up Lorelai's engagement ring form the nightstand. He stares at it and thinks about marrying Lorelai.

 _Maybe it would be better if we got married sooner rather than later. It might help Anna see that Lorelai really is sticking around._ He thinks, but then disagrees with himself. _No, I need to really feel comfortable with April before I can settle down with Lorelai. We shouldn't rush into marriage._ He knew that it wouldn't be fair to Lorelai if he married her then spent almost all of their free time with April. It was good that Lorelai was spending time with April before the wedding. Luke was relieved that he and Lorelai had decided to work things out and stay together while he adjusted to being a father.

The apartment door opened and Lorelai stepped in. "I thought I'd find you here."

Luke looks up and places the ring back on the nightstand.

"I thought you were coming over?" Lorelai asks him as she walks over to stand in front of him.

"Sorry. I just wanted to come here and think first." He says in a low voice.

"Hmm, I guess you can still come to your clubhouse since we're not married. What were you thinking about?" She says slowly.

Luke looks down and bites his lip for second. He looks back at her, "Just about you and April. Anna and I are going to talk about custody soon."

"Okay, but why didn't you come over and talk to me about it? You said you would." Lorelai ponders.

"I don't know I guess I just wanted to think it through on my own first. I shouldn't have, I know… I just needed some alone time I guess."

"Luke… I… if you're having second thoughts about anything having to do with us, you need to tell me." She looks at him straight in the eye.

Luke lets out a breath and meets her gaze. "No… it's not that. I was just thinking about when we could move on. I was thinking about when the best time to give you the ring back would be."

Lorelai nods slowly, keeps her eyes locked on him. "And? What did you decide?" She presses him.

"I'm sticking by my choice to wait until everything is right with April and Anna. I'm not ready to set a date yet. Is that okay with you?" He clears his throat. "I know you're probably sick of waiting, but I'm almost ready and Anna and I are going to talk about the custody thing soon so…" He tells her with an unreadable expression.

"I'm okay with it. I know you still want to marry me, and I can wait. I know that April is important to you. Rory is my world, so I get it. I think it's great that you took charge and you want a proper relationship with her." She stops because Luke looks like he wants to say something.

"Are you sure you're okay with it? You can tell me if you're not." He says gently.

Lorelai presses her lips together. "I know I didn't tell you how I was feeling for months and I regret that. This is different. We can't keep anything from each other anymore. I meant it when I said we're going to stay together. I don't want to lose you." She looks away as she says the last part.

"You won't. I'm not going to push you away again. I guess it," he stops and thinks for a few seconds. "It was wrong of me to think that I had to focus on April before I could really be with you. I mean, I shouldn't have expected you to be so patient while I was getting to know her alone. I should have asked you for your help instead of shutting you out." Luke says sincerely.

Lorelai gives him a small smile, "I wanted to help. I said this before too, we both made mistakes, but we're fixing them now and that's all that matters."

Luke smiles back. "I agree." He says simply.

They both thought that they had had similar conversations in the past week. But they both knew that talking about everything was helping them with their communication issues.

"So, good talk?" Lorelai asks quietly.

"Good talk." Luke agrees. He nods his head and says, "Come here."

Lorelai raises her eyebrows and walks over to him. She sits on his lap and whispers, "I think I'm having déjà vu."

Luke knew she was referring to the last time she sat in his lap, in the exact same chair in his apartment. He cringes and whispers "Sorry." He knew that he ended up being a hypocrite after that conversation.

"It's okay." She tells him and she tilts her head, waits for his kiss.

Luke smiles softly and rubs her back then presses his lips to hers. They share a few soft kisses. Luke is the one to pull back.

"Thank you for waiting." He says.

"It's worth the wait." Lorelai answers simply.

Luke nods in agreement and brings his lips back to hers. He kisses her gently before Lorelai deepens the kiss. Luke pulls away after a minute.

"Want to head to bed?" Lorelai asks.

Luke glances at her then looks at the bed. "I thought you'd want to stay at your house tonight?"

"Yeah, you're right. Rory should be getting back from dinner soon and I think she's staying the night." Lorelai replies.

"You didn't go to Friday night dinner?" Luke questions.

Lorelai shakes her head. "I wanted to see you instead. I didn't want to deal with my mother's questions about us."

"About us?" Luke is confused.

"Well, I had to tell her what was happening with us because she and my dad want to buy us a house. It would be a wedding gift."

"Oh. What did you tell her?" Luke contemplates.

"I had to tell her that we wouldn't be getting married anytime soon, so we wouldn't need a house. She didn't exactly take it well; she wasn't thrilled to hear that I hadn't become involved with April yet. But I told her to let us sort everything out. I'm kind of surprised she hasn't come to the diner to shout at you."

Luke takes a few seconds to respond. "Maybe you… _we_ should tell her that we are working on everything, and we are getting married… just not as soon as she thought."

Lorelai sighs softly. "Yeah, we probably should. She really did seem to be concerned. How about we go see her tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." Luke agrees.

Lorelai slowly slides off his lap. "Okay. I'm gonna head back home now if that's okay with you?"

Luke stands up and nods. "Go home to Rory. I'm fine here."

Lorelai raises her eyebrows. "Really, because I'm going to miss you in my bed," She says with an awkward wink.

Luke smirks, "We'll be fine." He didn't want to focus on the physical part of their relationship until they sorted out all their issues and they were officially engaged again.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, doll." Lorelai gives him a quick kiss goodbye.

He flashes a smile before she turns around and walks away.

Author's note: Thank you for reading, following and reviewing. I already uploaded the next chapter; please feel free to leave a review for either chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Lorelai went to the diner for breakfast. She woke up earlier than usual, so she let Rory sleep in and went alone. When she arrived at the diner, she noticed that it was pretty packed. She saw Luke at one of the tables, refilling a customer's coffee. She took a seat on a stool at the counter and waited for him to come to her.

Luke noticed her after he finished wiping down a different table. He walks over behind the counter.

"Hey. What can I get you?" He asks with an affectionate look.

Lorelai smiles softly. "Hey. Um… pancakes, bacon, hash browns and coffee please."

"Okay. Comin' up," Luke tells her with a nod. He goes to the kitchen to give Caesar the order. He comes back carrying two plates of food and Lorelai watches him carry them to a table and place them in front of two customers. When he returns to the counter, Lorelai asks him:

"So would one be a good time for you to come with me to talk to my mother?"

Luke nods. "Yeah, there's usually a bit of a lull at that hour."

"Okay, but are you sure you want to come with me? I could probably talk to her myself, save you from the wrath of Emily Gilmore." Lorelai mutters.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. We should do this together." Luke replies.

"Okay." Lorelai just nods.

Luke goes back to serving customers and Lorelai waits for her food for a few minutes. She has barely started eating when the diner door opens and she hears footsteps heading to the counter. She lifts her head up and sees Emily and she almost chokes on her food.

"Mom?" Lorelai manages to get the word out before Emily is next to her.

"I thought you'd be here. I went to your house and you weren't there. Then I went to the Inn and you weren't there. I tried your cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail." Emily says.

"Oh, sorry, my phone is charging at home. Why are you here?" Lorelai responds.

"Well, you didn't come to Friday night dinner last night and Rory gave the sorry excuse of you being sick. You don't look very sick to me." Emily frowns.

Luke notices the commotion and he heads over to the counter. "Hi, Emily," He politely greets her.

Emily looks at him for a second before she turns her attention back to Lorelai. "Lorelai, I want to know what's going on." She says frankly.

Lorelai glances around the diner to find everyone looking at them. She sighs softly, "Okay." She turns to Luke: "Can we go upstairs and talk in private, all three of us."

"Sure. Head on up I'll be there in a minute." Luke tells her.

Lorelai gestures for Emily to follow her and she does so without speaking. They walk upstairs and Lorelai is relieved to find the apartment door unlocked.

"Why are we up here?" Emily asks when they step inside. She looks appalled.

"Because I didn't want to talk in public, this isn't a conversation I need people to hear." Lorelai explains.

"All right, but we could have gone somewhere else." Emily says in a low voice. She looks Lorelai in the eye. "I want to know what's happened between you and Luke since we last spoke."

"I'll tell you. Just wait until Luke comes up. I want him to be a part of this." Lorelai says.

Luke walks in seconds after she says that. He walks over and stands next to Lorelai.

"Okay, do you want to sit down Mom?" Lorelai asks.

Emily looks around again, "No. Just tell me what's going on between you two." She looks back and forth between them.

Lorelai glances at Luke before she speaks and he nods, encouraging her. "Well Luke and I are doing better. We've talked a lot and shared our feelings. We've put everything out on the table so to speak. And we've decided to stay together. I've spent some time with April recently and… I'm happy with where we're at right now."

"Well that's a relief." Emily lets out a breath.

Lorelai and Luke are both surprised by her reaction. They share a smile.

"I was wondering if I was going to have to talk some sense into you, Luke." Emily glares at Luke. "It took you long enough, but you finally did the right thing and let Lorelai in. I hope you realize that you hurt her by not letting her be involved in your daughter's life."

Luke exhales, "Yes, and I hate that I couldn't see that she was hurting. But I am going to stay by her side and we are going to get through this. I am really trying my best to be a good father and a good partner." He tells her.

Emily nods. "All right, I'm happy to hear that." She looks at Lorelai and she notices that she isn't wearing the engagement ring. "Lorelai, where's your ring?"

Lorelai flinches. "Um, well I gave Luke the ring back when we took a break and he wants to wait until things are settled with April and her mother before he gives it back to me. We're still getting married, Mom, just not anytime soon. Luke is going to give me back the ring when he's ready to set a date."

Luke nods, "Right. I've still adjusting to having April in my life and Lorelai is still getting to know her too. I think it would be best if I wait until I'm ready to set a date and start planning the wedding to give Lorelai the ring back. I just think that's the right way to do this."

Emily presses her lips together, "But what about the house your father and I want to buy for you? We can't hold onto it forever."

"I know, but Luke and I are doing this the right way and we don't want to rush anything. If you lose the house, that's all right. We don't need that house as soon as we get married. My house is big enough for now." Lorelai says and she gives Emily a gentle smile.

"Yeah, and while I appreciate the fact that you want to buy us a house, I think it's a bit too extravagant of a gift." Luke admits.

Emily looks like she wants to disagree, but what she says surprises Luke and Lorelai once again. "I guess that would be fine. I think we can still hold onto the house for a while longer…if you change your mind. We could probably even find another house, although I think that one suits you." She lets out a breath. "You're eventually getting married, that's what's important. Please let me be involved with the planning this time. I don't want to be left out like I was when you were engaged to that other man."

Lorelai nods and smiles softly, "Sure, Mom. And thank you for listening and supporting us."

"It's nothing. I want you to be happy, Lorelai." Emily says sincerely.

Luke smiles and wraps his arm around Lorelai. Lorelai gives Emily another smile and Emily actually gives her a small smile in return.

"I have to head back to Hartford." She says quickly.

"Okay, bye Mom." Lorelai says.

Emily just turns around and leaves. After a minute passes, Lorelai speaks:  
"That went well."

"Yeah, it did. Better than I expected it to go." Luke replies.

Lorelai sighs contently and wraps her arms around Luke, buries her face in his neck.

Luke holds her close and kisses the top of her head. They both feel relieved. Lorelai pulls back after a bit and quickly kisses his cheek. She grins and he can't help but grin back. They head back downstairs and Lorelai finishes her breakfast, even though it had gone cold. They share an over-the-counter kiss before she leaves.

Author's note: I just wanted to mention that Rory knows that Luke and Lorelai are staying together; I just didn't write that conversation in.


	11. Chapter 11

A couple days later, Luke discussed April's custody with Anna. Luke was more than a little shocked when Anna told him that she wanted to stay out of court. They drafted a written custody agreement themselves and they agreed to get assistance from a Family Law representative.

"You know, Luke when you first started spending time with April, I was worried that you wouldn't stick around and that you might end up letting April down. But I was wrong, you really did step up and I'm happy that April has you in her life." Anna said sincerely.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. I love April and I'm happy that she found me that day. And I'm glad that we could come to an agreement today." Luke replied.

"Me too," Anna smiled at him.

Luke made plans to have dinner with April and invite Lorelai the following night. He heads back to Stars Hollow and drives to Lorelai's house. He walks in and finds Lorelai sitting on the couch, watching a movie with Rory. Rory had returned home for the summer yesterday.

"Hey," Lorelai greets Luke with a smile. "How'd it go with Anna?"

"Great. We came to an agreement." Luke tells her.

"That's good." Lorelai smiles again.

"How's April doing?" Rory asks as Luke comes to stand in front of them.

"I didn't see her today; she was at some after school study group. But she's good." Luke smiles brightly.

"Good to know." Rory responds. She stands up and looks between Lorelai and Luke.  
"I'm gonna go finish unpacking so you two can talk."

"Oh no, you don't have to do that." Luke protests.

"It's fine. We've seen this movie before anyway." Rory smiles at Lorelai before she leaves the room.

Luke takes Rory's spot next to Lorelai.

"Hi." Lorelai whispers as she leans in to give him a quick kiss.

"Hi." Luke says softly as he pats her knee.

"So Anna actually agreed to give you partial custody?" Lorelai is a little surprised.

Luke nods, "Yeah, I was a little shocked too. But, she knows that I'm not going to bail on April and she knows April wants me to be a part of her life."

Lorelai smiles, "Great." She looks away.

"Is something wrong?" Luke asks, concerned.

Lorelai looks him in the eye. "No it's just… I'm wondering um did Anna ever apologize for keeping April from you for all those years?"

Luke takes a few seconds to reply. "Come to think of it, no, she's never really apologized. I mean, she's said 'I'm sorry' but she's never really seemed to regret her decision." He looks down at his feet.

Lorelai places her hand on his. "Hey, that was Anna's mistake. I mean you may not have seemed like a kid guy back then, but she still should have told you. I know you would have been there for your own kid, Rory's not even your kid and you've always looked out for her. I hate that Anna didn't give you the chance to be a father."

"I know, you've told me before." Luke lifts his head and brings his gaze to Lorelai. "But, we can't change what happened in the past. I've been given the chance to be involved in April's life now, and I'm going to make sure it stays that way. That's all that matters… well, that and _you_. Thank you for staying by my side through all of this, Lorelai, really." He beams at her.

Lorelai smiles back. "You're welcome, hon, but you don't need to thank me, I'm here no matter what."

Luke just leans in and kisses her softly.

"Are you staying the night?" Lorelai asks when he pulls away.

Luke shakes his head. "No, spend some time with Rory. I'm heading back to the apartment. I'll see you tomorrow? April's coming for dinner and you're welcome to join us. I'm thinking that we'll just stay in the apartment and I'll cook her favourite, spaghetti."

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow." Lorelai walks Luke to the door.

"Bye." Luke gives her a sweet, long kiss.

"Bye." She says as he turns and walks out the door. She is anticipating him to give her back the ring soon and she knows he will give to her soon.

The next night, Luke, Lorelai and April have dinner in Luke's apartment as planned. When Lorelai goes downstairs to grab a couple donuts for dessert, April helps Luke get started on the dishes.

"Hey Dad, can I ask you something?" She asks.

Luke stops scrubbing a pot and grabs a dishtowel to dry his hands. "Sure." He replies simply.

"Why didn't you properly introduce me to Lorelai until recently?"

Luke swallows nervously. "Well, I wanted to get to know you on my own before I really introduced you to anyone."

April frowns, "But you introduced me to Caesar and Lane… and Jess when we saw him in Philadelphia. I even met Rory there."

"I don't know… uh it was different with them. Jess is your cousin and it was hard not to introduce you to the Caesar and Lane since they work in the diner. I know I should have let Lorelai get to know you sooner, I'm sorry about that. I just got in my own head and I don't like asking for help…." Luke says quickly. He knows his excuses aren't exactly reasonable.

Lorelai walks back in just as he finishes his sentence.

April gives Luke a small smile. "Well, I wanted to meet Lorelai officially. I really like her and I'm glad we're finally getting to know each other." She frowns again. "Are you two still getting married?" She asks.

Lorelai stays in the living room area and lets Luke handle the conversation.

"Yes, we're staying together and we are getting married sometime this year. You don't need to worry about us. Lorelai is staying in my life and yours. I didn't handle things the right way when you first came into my life, but I know now its best if you and Lorelai aren't kept apart. You think so too, right?" Luke answers. He keeps his eyes on her as he waits for her response.

"Yeah, like I said, I like Lorelai. I'm happy you two are staying together… I would hate it if you two were broken up because of me." She mutters.

Lorelai gets up and walks towards them. Luke sees her and he puts a hand up, letting her know that he would handle this.

"Because of you? No, sweetie. Nothing you did caused any of Lorelai's and my problems. Like I said, I didn't handle things the right way when you showed up. I should have told Lorelai about you right away. But, you have to know, I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. Don't blame yourself." Luke is dumbfounded by the fact that April thinks she could have caused what happened.

April doesn't say anything, so Lorelai jumps in.  
"He's right, honey. You are not the cause of our problems. Don't ever think that. Your dad and I both take full responsibility for our actions. We're both happy that you are a part of our lives."

Luke agrees, "Right." He smiles at April.

A smile slowly spreads across April's face. "Okay." She looked relieved.

Lorelai smiles, "Now then, who wants some donuts?" She gestures to the bag of donuts which she left on the coffee table.

Luke goes back to doing the dishes and Lorelai and April eat a couple of donuts and chat. A half hour later, Luke tells April to say goodbye to Lorelai since he had to drive her home, as it was a school night. April gives Lorelai a quick hug goodbye and although Lorelai is a bit taken aback, she hugs her back.

"Drive safe." Lorelai tells Luke. She would be heading back home to spend some more time with Rory. April leaves to go wait in the truck.

"I will." Luke replies. "Oh, and I was going to ask you: are you free on Thursday night?"

"Yeah, I should be, why? Are you planning something special?" Lorelai raises her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I was thinking we could go to Sniffy's for dinner." Luke replies.

"Oh, that'd be nice." Lorelai says enthusiastically.

"It's a date then?" Luke smirks.

"Yep, it's a date, burger boy."

Luke gives her a quick kiss. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow at the diner?"

Lorelai nods. "I'll come for breakfast tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye." Lorelai pulls him in for once more kiss before he leaves.

Author's note: Thank you for reading, reviewing, and following. Reviews are always appreciated. The next chapter will be the last one.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Just a little heads up, this chapter fits the M rating.**

On Thursday night, Luke kept his promise and took Lorelai to Sniffy's. When they arrived, there were both greeted with hugs from Maisy.

"We haven't seen you two in ages!" Maisy hits Luke's arm playfully.

"Yeah, sorry about that Maisy, we've been busy." Luke mumbles in response.

"It's alright. Come along, I'll lead you to your table." They follow Maisy to the same table they sat at during their first date.

"I'll bring Buddy out to say hello." Maisy says before she walks away.

Lorelai picks up one of the menus from the table. She quickly skims it over. "I see they haven't changed anything here." She says quietly, but with a smile.

"Yep. It's nice to be back here." Luke says simply.

Lorelai reaches out and pats his knee. She was going to agree with him, but Maisy returns with Buddy before she could say a word.

"Lucas, Lorelai. It's nice to see you. How are you?" Buddy asks.

"We're great, Buddy. And you?" Luke replies.

"Fine, fine," Buddy says casually. He glances at Maisy and she nods. "So are you two celebrating anything special this evening?"

Luke looks between Buddy and Maisy and sees the eager look on both of their faces. "Um, no, I just wanted to have a nice evening out with Lorelai." He gives Lorelai a small smile.

"Buddy, go and tell Rob to whip up something special for these two." Maisy whispers to Buddy. He leaves. Maisy looks at Luke. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute, Lucas?"

Luke frowns. "Uh, sure," He pats Lorelai's hand as he gets up. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay." Lorelai answers simply.

Luke is surprised by how fast Maisy is walking; he walks faster to keep up with her. They go to the restaurant office.

"I thought you were engaged to Lorelai? I didn't see any ring on her finger !" Maisy exclaims as soon as Luke shuts the door behind him.

Luke sighs softly. "Well, it's complicated."

"Complicated? Explain to me what's complicated. You phoned and told us that you two got engaged months ago!" Maisy seems to be upset and Luke doesn't like it.

"Remember I told you how I found out I have a daughter, a twelve year old girl who I had no clue existed?"

"Yes." Maisy replies simply.

"Well, I was overwhelmed with trying to bond with her and I… well I shut Lorelai out while I was spending time getting to know April. Lorelai and I decided to take a break while I adjusted to being a father and that was the right thing to do because I was an idiot to not let Lorelai be involved and the time we spent apart made me realize that." He takes a deep breath and continues before Maisy could say anything. "Then Lorelai and I really talked about everything and we decided to stay together, but I told her I wanted to wait to give her the ring back until I settled everything with Anna and April." He stops and waits for Maisy's response.

"How could you be so stupid and push Lorelai away? I can tell how much you two love each other. Why would you not let her be involved in your daughter's life?" Maisy was clearly dumbfounded.

"Yes, I know, like I said I was an idiot. But, Lorelai and I have really dealt with a lot of our issues in the past few weeks. I've let April and Lorelai spend a lot of time together recently and Anna is letting me have shared custody. We're working everything out. In fact, I'm planning on giving Lorelai the ring back later tonight." Luke informs her. He hated that he had made her upset and he wanted to clear things up.

Maisy sighs gently. "Okay." She touches Luke arm gently, although her expression seemed to express that she wanted to hit him. "You scared me; I thought you let Lorelai get away!"

Luke shakes his head, "No, Maisy, I would never let Lorelai get away." He says firmly.

Maisy nods. "I'm glad to hear it." She gently pushes him towards the door. "You can go back to your table now. We'll have your waitress bring you a special meal."

Luke grins, "All right Maisy. We'll come say goodbye later."

Lorelai smiles at Luke as he sits back down at their table.

"What was that about?" She asks him.

"Oh, uh Maisy was just worried about us." Luke says quickly.

"About us? What did you tell Maisy and Buddy about what happened between us?" Lorelai asks nervously.

"Well, I called them when we got engaged and they were excited about that and I told them about April. I never told them what happened in the past few weeks. Maisy saw that you weren't wearing your ring and she was worried. I set her straight. I told her that we're working thing out." Luke answers.

"Okay." Lorelai replies simply.

Luke reaches across the table and takes Lorelai's hand in his. He raises their joined hands to his mouth and kisses hers. Lorelai smiles softly at him. He doesn't let go of her hand until their food comes.

An hour and a bit later, Luke and Lorelai finish their meal, including dessert. They say goodbye to Maisy and Buddy and Maisy gives them a bottle of champagne to take home. Luke groans but Lorelai thanks her and promises that she'll drink it if Luke won't.

They head to the closed diner and Luke pours a cup of coffee for Lorelai. She has a feeling that he'll give her the ring back tonight, but she doesn't say anything to prompt him. When she finishes her coffee, Luke comes to stand next to her stool and he gestures for her to stand up. She does.

He clears his throat. "Lorelai, I think we've made a lot of progress in the past few weeks and… I'm asking you now; will you take the ring back?" He pulls the ring out of his pocket and holds it out to her.

Lorelai just nods, a smirk on her face. She holds out her left hand, letting him know that she wanted him to put on the ring. He smirks back and gently pushes the ring onto her finger.

Lorelai looks down at the ring then looks back up at Luke. "That's where it belongs." She says.

Luke gives her a smile and a nod. "I'll make sure it stays there. You're it for me, Lorelai. I never want to let you go again." He says in a low, sincere voice.

Lorelai was touched by his words. She was a little surprised that he was so open with her. She remembered how he had said: _"You're supposed to let your actions speak. That's the romantic way to do this, damn it."_  
She smiles sweetly then leans in to kiss him.

Luke kisses her back. They kiss heatedly for about a minute. Lorelai is the one to pull away.

"I'm staying here tonight." She tells him before she leans back in and starts nibbling on his earlobe and kissing his neck.

Luke draws in a sharp breath. "You don't want to go home to Rory?" He whispers.

Lorelai pulls back again. "Rory's fine. I told her that there was a chance I'd be spending the night with you." She explains.

Luke responds by pressing his lips to hers. They share a few slow kisses until Lorelai pulls back again. "Let's go upstairs." She says quickly.

Luke smiles, "I was just about to suggest that."

They head upstairs. Once they get inside the apartment and Luke shuts the door, Lorelai kicks off her heels and starts to slip her dress off.

Luke turns to face her, "Hey that's my job."

Lorelai raises her eyebrows, "Well get to work then."

Luke quickly strides over to her and takes her in his arms. He kisses her as he pushes her dress down. Lorelai giggles as his stubble tickles her face.

Luke pulls away and takes his shoes off. Lorelai reaches out and starts unbuttoning his shirt. She pushes her dress down her hips and it falls to the floor. Luke takes her in and whispers, "Beautiful."

Lorelai blushes. Luke finishes unbuttoning his shirt and drops it to the floor. He snakes his arm around her waist and pulls her to him. They kiss passionately. Lorelai's hands make their way to his belt and she undoes it. Luke unclasps her bra with one hand and she takes her hands away from his belt to push the straps off her shoulders. She drops the bra and looks at him.

Luke kisses her softly then removes his belt. He unbuttons and kicks off his pants then pulls her into his chest. He sighs as he feels her bare breasts against him. She feels his arousal through his boxers and grins. She pulls away from his embrace and gives him a seductive smile. He meets her eyes and reaches out to gently stoke her cheek.

"I love you." She says softly.

He gives her a lazy smile, "I love you too."

Lorelai puts a hand on the back of his head and pulls his mouth back to hers. They keep kissing as Luke backs her up to the bed. Lorelai pulls her lips from his and gets on the bed. She lies down and gestures for him to join her. He takes his boxers and socks off before he moves to the bed. He holds himself above her and kisses her neck, then her breasts, then her stomach.

"Luke." Lorelai moans. She didn't want him to take it slow. She reaches down and pushes her panties down. He notices and helps her get them down her legs and drops them to the floor.

He kisses her deeply and moans when she slips her tongue in his mouth. Lorelai reaches down and grasps his cock, letting him know she wanted him now. He shifts so that he is pressed to her entrance. Lorelai reaches for his hand and he laces his fingers through hers. She moans as he sinks into her slowly.

He holds still for a few seconds, savors the feeling of being inside her. Lorelai runs her hands up and down his back, urges him to move. He starts moving and lets out a grunt. She presses a kiss to his chin. Luke presses his forehead to hers and starts thrusting in and out of her.

Lorelai grunts and wraps her legs around his hips. Luke squeezes her hand and picks up the pace of his thrusts. She meets his thrusts by grinding her hips against his. He kisses her tenderly and she smiles against his lips. "Lorelai." He says hoarsely as he feels his release coming. He moves faster, determined to get her to climax with him.

"Luke, oh!" She cries as she climaxes. He thrusts once more then empties into her slowly.

"Yes, oh… Lorelai," He groans. She pulls him down for a kiss before he pulls out of her and collapses next to her.

"I missed that, I missed us." Lorelai says.

"Me too," Luke agrees. He reaches out for her, but she moves and gets up off the bed.

"Where are you going?" He asks, confused.

Lorelai doesn't answer him as she walks over to his closet and opens it. She takes a minute to find what she's looking for. She smiles as she pulls out the blue flannel, the one she wore the morning after their first date. She quickly slips it on and buttons it up then walks back over to the bed and lies back down.

Luke smiles when he sees the flannel. He turns to face Lorelai and she meets his eyes and smiles.

"It matches your eyes." Luke whispers.

"Yours too… if we ever have kids, they'll have gorgeous eyes." She says with a small smile.

"Mmm hmm." Luke mutters as he reaches out and pulls her to him. She lays her head on his chest, presses a kiss to it.

"You still want to have kids with me… even though you have April now?" She lifts her head and asks.

"Of course I do. Having April come into my life has made me want to experience being a father from the beginning. I want kids with you." Luke didn't hesitate answering.

"Okay." Lorelai pecks his lips then lays her head back on his chest.

He kisses the top of her head and runs his fingers through her hair. They lie peacefully in silence for a few minutes.

Lorelai lifts her head and sits up. "I'm going to go take a shower… you're welcome to join me." She says with a grin.

They had taken showers together before, but that was at Lorelai's house, where the shower was larger. Luke didn't know how they were both going to fit in his shower, but he got up and followed her to the bathroom.

A few days later, they set a new wedding date for the beginning of September.

 **Author's note: This is the last chapter. I hope I didn't end it too abruptly… Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites. Please feel free to leave a review to let me know your thoughts on the last chapter.**


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